What is the best media to put in an ac 150?

[Michael88]

hi.
i currently have a 20g with a male pink con(called Big Daddy)
the filter is an ac 150 and i was wondring what is the best bet for max filtration. i got 2 of the sponges they sel for them in there since the pouch of carbon is useless after 2-3 days so i dont bother but is there an alternative that woud do better?i was thinking to buy bio balls and fiter floss.once in a while i buy a pouch of ammo rid. . what combinations have you had th most succes with?

[squeeker]

I use bio balls and sponge.  Ammrid is pretty useless, and I don't bother with carbon.  I've never had a problem with this combination.

[blueturq]

hi.
i currently have a 20g with a male pink con(called Big Daddy)
the filter is an ac 150 and i was wondring what is the best bet for max filtration. i got 2 of the sponges they sel for them in there since the pouch of carbon is useless after 2-3 days so i dont bother but is there an alternative that woud do better?i was thinking to buy bio balls and fiter floss.once in a while i buy a pouch of ammo rid. . what combinations have you had th most succes with?

LOL at the name! :lol:

You could use carbon if you like, but then again you don't have to if you don't want to (oh my, I hope that this doesn't turn into a carbon debate!) :shock:

Definitely use sponge, and for additional media you could use those bio max ceramic rings, seeing as they are porous allowing more bacteria to go through it/on it.

[Shouganai]

I use a sponge at the bottom of the basket, and two pouches of the bio media. I have two AC filters running, a mini and a 300, and they work just fine like this. I don't bother with carbon or that amrid junk either.

[PNA]

3 sponges here.

[dpatte]

I expect that amrid will distort your nitrogen cycle - i wouldnt use it if I where you. It should probably should only be used in the case of an ammonia/nigrogen emergency

I have 18 tanks, and almost all have marineland biowheel filters (penguins or emperors), but the six largest tanks have AC filters on them as well

my 50 has a penguin 330 and an AC 70 (old 300s)
my three 75s, my 137 and my 150 all have emperor 400s as well as ac 110s (old 500s)

in all my ac filters, i only use the sponge - but i am depending on my marineland biowheels to do most of the biological filtration. If you dont have biowheels, i would suggest adding something to insure a good medium as a biological filter.

I generally try to avoid carbon in any of my tanks, since i have heard that old carbon can leech impurities back into tanks!

[mseguin]

That's why I generally change my carbon about every two months. I use the amrid stuff as well, seems like it can't do any harm, and its not like it's expensive (although the bill might be a bit higher for you David).

[Michael88]

si i guess ill stop the ammo rid. if the bctria have nothing to eat i can see how that would srew up the bio balance.how would this sound:bio balls on the bottom , a sponge in the middle andsome filter floss on top . ho would that sound?

[dpatte]

floss on bottom, sponge, bioballs reaching out of water surface and something to hold them in (perhaps in a nylon bag?)

[Michael88]

ill do just that. why the bio balls reaching out of water surface?

[Underwater]

the short answer is it helps the bacteria breathe

[BigDaddy]

Three sponges.  Mechanical filtration, plenty of space for the biological filter...  easy to maintain...

I really think the bioballs idea is to try to convince canister owners to give a HOB a shot as a low cost alternative by providing media that mimics what you get with a canister.

[Julie]

I use 2 foams and a rooted philodendron in my ac.

Julie

[Michael88]

how much would it cost for some bio balls and filter floss  at big al's innes?

[scottb]

i have the same filter on my 20gal.  another media type to consider as an alternative to the bio-balls would be the ceramic biomax that hagen distributes.  the plus on this side is that you can get the media in a pouch that already fits the filter (the AC 30 is exactly the same).  I added 1 of these to a first layer sponge (for the big stuff), second layer floss (for the small stuff) and have noticed a substantial improvement in my water chemistry.

[scottb]

p.s. the insert only costs about $5.